Sunday, June 11, 2006

Cardoon!! I saw you standing alone!!

Ok, well that was an experiment.

I deleaved and cleaned the Cardoon, cut it into 2 inch pieces and boiled them in lemon juice and salt for 30 minutes. I then put them in a pan, made a bechemel sauce with mustard powder and salt, covered the piece with the sauce and topped with Cheddar cheese, then baked at 375 for 15 minutes.

Well, the flavor is, how do I say, off. I usually like off flavors, but this one did not say to me "its pretty ok". It said "what the hell are you eating me for, jerk".

So, my motto being "I will try anything 3 or 4 times (not liver, don't like the liver eww uckk arrgh), I will do some more study of this plant and dishes and try one more time!!

Vicious shwas a way to e-scape!!

Scape Vichyssois!!! Recipe and Review at the end of farmer markets pictures!

Finally the Farmers Market opened up in town!!

This is Part of the table for Don's Waterfall Farms!!

They specialize in Peppers and Heirloom tomatoes.

They Did not have any produce yet (Still growing, but they had some Cardoon and Scape.

The following picture is the Cardoon. I will post later after preparing something from it!

And this is Scape. Below i make a great soup and will pickle the stems!

They were selling weird stuff at the market also.




Now to the soup!! I browned the scape a little and this gave the soup a soft roasted garlic taste to it!

I also used Superior Touch "Better Than Bouillon", which gave it a nice rich taste.

I love this soup and it shows why fresh ingredients are the best!!

Scape Vichyssoise

A classic soup (served hot or cold) for garlic lovers. If scapes are not available at a specialty shop or farmer's market, use 1/4 cup sliced garlic. If you like spicy soups, add a few drops of chili oil.

4 servings
35 minutes 10 mins prep

1 tablespoon butter
2 cups chopped garlic scapes
1 cup sliced leeks
2 cups diced peeled red potatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup whipping cream
salt, & freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

Heat butter in pot over medium-high heat; add scapes& leaks and saute for 2 minutes.

Add potatoes& saute until softened slightly, about 2 minutes longer.

Add stock& bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium& simmer for 10 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.

Puree in food processor or with a hand immersion blender.

Add cream& seasonings to taste.
Simmer for 5 minutes to blend flavours.
Stir in parsley.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

COQ A VIN-A fancy way of saying chicken cooked in wine!

I signed up for Cook's Illustraded to test recipes and the below coq a vin was the 1st! I have made this before using an Alton Brown version from his show cukoo for coq a vin.

Next time i make this, i will make the sauce a lot thicker, the sauce is the dfinitive part of this and i think pouring it over rice or a starchy noodle (or maybe a bread) will help one enjoy this better!!

Since finding boneless thighs is difficult and expensive to by boned thighs and deboning i used 2.5lbs of chicken breast!

The flavors were well blended, but the juice was more flavorfull, thats why there should be something added like a bread or rice that will absorb the juice.





















Coq au Vin
Serves 4 to 6

Avoid bold, heavily oaked red wine varietals like Cabernet and light-bodied wines like Beaujolais. Serve the stew with egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

If you cannot find frozen pearl onion, substitute the same amount of peeled fresh pearl onions.

1 (750 ml) bottle medium-bodied, fruity red wine such as Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, or light Rhone Valley wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
10 sprigs fresh parsley plus 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
4 ounces bacon, preferably thick-cut, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat
Table salt
Ground black pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
24 frozen pearl onions (evenly sized), thawed, drained, and patted dry (about 1 cup, or 5 ounces) 8 ounces white button mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed, halved if small and quartered if large
2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. In large saucepan, simmer wine, broth, 10 sprigs parsley, thyme, and bay over medium-high heat until reduced to 3 cups, about 25 minutes. Remove and discard herbs.

2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in large Dutch oven over medium heat until browned and fat has rendered, 7 to 8 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat.

3. Fold chicken thighs in half and season lightly with salt and pepper. Heat remaining tablespoon bacon fat in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Brown thighs in single layer (thighs should remain folded in half to prevent overcooking) until just golden, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to large plate.

4. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in now-empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When foaming subsides, add pearl onions and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are lightly browned, 7 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, about 1 minute. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter. When butter is melted, stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.

5. Add chicken thighs, reserved cooked bacon, reduced wine/broth mixture, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; scrape bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and simmer 25 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time.

6. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to large serving platter and tent loosely with foil. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer sauce until it is thick, glossy, and measures 3 1/4 cups, about 5 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

**If frozen pearl onions are not available, you may substitute fresh pearl onions instead. Do not use jarred pearl onions, which quickly turn mushy and disintegrate into the sauce. To use fresh pearl onions, trim the root and stem end of each pearl onion and discard. Boil for 1 minute, shock in ice water, then peel a thin strip from root to stem. Remove any remaining outer skin—like peeling off a jacket.

Monday, June 05, 2006

Leap of Faith 2 or soup gone wrong!!!!


I realized my mistake when i looked at the recipe for yesterdays cauliflower soup, I did not see the 1lb before the 6oz. Even though i used a little more than 6oz of cauliflower it came out thin.

So i made it again tonight with LOTS of cauliflower and ohhh ohhhhhhhh, it was delicious. Thicker with more developed flavors!!

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Leap of Faith

I tried the cauliflower soup listed on albioncooks. It was very good!! I did not carefully measure the ingredients. I sweated about a cup of Vidalia sweet onion and a large portion of cauliflower.

I also used white pepper to keep it clean!! The flavors were wonderful, I need to use more cauliflower next time.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

SPICY RICE WITH SHRIMP AND PEPPERS

Wonderfull Dinner!!

I made the below from Epicurious, using the Annatto powder was new, found it in the small mexican store in town.

I added a jalepeno and used a whole habenero.

The flavors are quite good with a nice burn!!! I'm doing better by making my vegetable chopped with larger pieces.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons plus
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
4 green onions, chopped, divided

1 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 1/2 cups bottled clam juice
1/2 teaspoon annatto powder*

1/4 cup olive oil1 cup chopped onion
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 to 1 whole Scotch bonnet chile or habanero chile, seeded, chopped
1 cup medium-grain white rice

Whisk extra-virgin olive oil, 2 teaspoons vinegar, and 2 chopped green onions in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.Toss shrimp with lime juice in bowl. Let stand 30 minutes.

Bring clam juice and annatto powder to boil in small saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Cover and set aside.

Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp with any juices to pan; sprinkle with salt and sauté until just opaque in center, about 3 minutes. Transfer to plate. Add onion, green pepper, and garlic to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, cilantro, chile, and 1 chopped green onion to pan. Reduce heat to medium and sauté until vegetables are almost tender, about 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon vinegar and rice; stir 2 minutes. Add clam juice mixture. Boil rice mixture 1 minute. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until rice is tender and broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in shrimp. Cover and cook until shrimp are heated through, about 1 minute. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with 1 chopped green onion. Serve with dressing.

*Available in the spice section of some supermarkets, at Latin markets, and from wholespice.com.

Makes 4 servings.
Bon AppétitFeaturesMay 2006
Beatriz Llamas